Cuban Rap Agency Can't Stop The Rhythm

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Cuban Rap Agency Can't Stop The Rhythm

Trying to control the hardcore street lyrics of all the wanna-be Afro-Cuban N.W.A.s and keep them Castro-friendly is hard work. Just ask the official Cuban Rap Agency, which was created over four years ago to work with Cuba's growing rap scene and make sure that their rebelliousness was aimed squarely where it belonged: the You! Ess! Ay!

The rap agency became a co-sponsor of an annual hip-hop festival that began in 1994, and it started promoting rappers and helping them to produce occasional albums. But only artists whose rap does not veer too much from the party line qualify for the government aid.

“We don’t have songs on a record that speak badly of the revolution,” Ms. García Amaros said on a recent day. “That doesn’t make sense.”

Of course it doesn't. But rappers aren't exactly known for spitting out rhymes praising the government, even in countries where the government doesn't have murder squads. So while there are more than 500 rap groups in Cuba, only 9 actually participate with the agency. “We don’t want to be in any agency,” said one rapper. “It’s the same as slavery for us.”